HYPOTHYROIDISM...NATURAL Help please!

Sorry i was on the prostate forum....lol... try to find the cause of hypothyroidism Wether if it primary or secondary...taking med or herbal is like putting a bandaid.... hypothyroidism can either be issues with thyriod it's self or pituitary hypothamalus get ruled what they underlayING issue blood work only goes so far....

barbara could you send me the link to please thanks

Thank you

No, No medicine for me

I'm determined to do it all natural

Tina, there is no "natural" effective treatment for hypothyroidism.  I sincerely feel your pain but you need to deal with reality, not the totally misguided and frankly, crackpot idea that you'll be cured with a bunch of stuff that we here in North Americacall 'snake oil'.  If you won't at leasttry thyroid supplement then I would conclude that clinging to your irrattional beliefs is more important to you than getting better.  That would be a sad outcome.  People here are trying to offer the help you need.  Listen to us.

Try natural desiccated thyroid.

Barbara, does it actually work in clinical trials?  Or just make the vendor rich?  No disrespect, just asking!

Dave

Hi tina, I have a question for you: if you had been diagnosed with diabetes and it wasn't possible to control with diet would you take insulin?

Thyroxine and insulin are both essential hormones that our bodies can't do without.

Also before you go down the non-treatment route you may find this post informative (see maggiemakes44's reply to cobwebs):

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/unacceptable-side-effects-of-levothyroxine-30055?page=0#1711283

Dave, No problem, I understand your skepticism. I can speak from personal experience. I started taking an NDT on 23 June 2015 (after I became intolerant to maize starch - there are no synthetic thyroid meds without maize starch). For the first time in 20 years i feel well and my blood tests are all in range. Previously, to not be like a frozen zombie, I had to be given enough thyroxine that my TSH was permanently suppressed i.e. unmeasureable. As I have increased my NDT dose this has been reflected in the blood tests. As I've decreased NDT dose, my blood test results also decrease. As you can see it's early days and I'm still tweaking the dose. An added complication is that my body isn't converting T4 to T3 properly. Which is why just giving me thyroxine (aka T4) wasn't working and I still felt rubbish.

I can not find a dr in my area that will prescribe Armour. I am trying all natural as well

i googled this :natural desiccated thyroid.and a whole bunch of different "thyroid alternatives" came up

I have tried 2 different "natural" thyroid supplements and have not noticed a difference in weight, hair growth, mood, anxiety, weight, etc.

Dave, Barbara is right on. Get on NDT as soon as you can, it will give you the T3 which you are probably missing (as well as T1 and T2). I found that synthetic T4 gave me more symptoms than when I had cancer! Before I was just sleepy, after I had bone pain, muscle pain, swishing sound in my head, head ache and so on and so on. I do not know the results of the clinical trials but it sure worked in me. You can Google those results. Just a note. Big Pharma doesn't want NDT to flourish and succeed because they cant' get thier hands on it and patent it because it is a natural phenomena, i.e. they can't make a lot of money out of it, so they try to put companies who make it, out of business.

Tina, it would help if you would post some blood test results (becauae one's options change depending on how badly one's thyroid is affected and whether other processes are involved). For example when I was diagnosed with thyroid disease in 1991 my TSH=170 (normal range is 0.4-4.9). I had no option but to go on thyroxine else I would have died.

I notice you haven't answered the question about insulin. There are some diseases where the choice is what type of medication, not whether to go on it or not. Thyroid disease is one of these, unless you are borderline, which the extent of your symptoms suggests you're not.

When you say 'I have tried two different natural thyroid supplements' I am interested in what you tried and for how long. Re 'what' you've tried, some of the thyroid supplements are not actual medication in the true sense of the word, for example iodine supplements can help if you live in a part of the world where the soil is deficient in iodine AND this is the reason your thyroid isn't working well AND it has been caught at an early stage. In the majority of cases of thyroid disease, it is one's own immune system that has destroyed the thyroid so that it no longer produces thyroxine - in these cases there is no option but to take medication (however much one dislikes doing so). In these cases one is replacing a crucial hormone that is absent). Also, it takes a long time to get thyroid dosage right (sometimes a year or more). How long did you try them for?

You make no mention of any doctors supporting you. Thyroid disease is complicated, though after 2 years of research I'm sure you have realised. One needs another person to offer informed, objective advice, specific to one's own situation.

You also haven't responded to my comment about your levels of other vitamins snd minerals, these all have to be ok for one's thyroid to be able to work and in some cases (e.g. mine) it still doesn't.

The bottom line is that you are having severe symptoms and need to find the cause and fix it; taking thyroid medication if appropriate.

Kaz, I've sent you a PM with details of where you can get a natural desiccated thyroid without prescription. Don't be put off by the fact that it says nutritional supplememt, it is proper ground up cow's thyroid. It Iis eqivalent to WP Throid which is from a pig's thyroid.

hi barbara ive just started thiroyd which is ground pigs gland,im confused now as didnt no about the cows gland.what is the best to take,im giving this 1 ago hoping i feel much better soon,what vitamins do you take,ive joined a ndt group in facebook which has been helpful to me.

hi davive just started ndt 2 days ago due to same signs as you been hypo for 24 years and sick of being told im ok which i no my own body and its not ok

barbara i have no pm,s ive just checked

 

Hi Karen, sorry, the post saying kaz should have said katz! Perishing autocorrect!

I don't think it matters which NDT you are on (cow or pig) it's just whichever suits you. Some people are allergic to pork, so it's good to know there is an alternative.

i realised that after i sent text as im so used to be calling kaz sorry

Hello Karen:

Humans have a lot in common with pigs. The natural hormone (NDT) is made from their gland.  When it is made from an animal like a pig or cow you get more than just T3 and T4, you get T1 and T2 hormones. They are important also.  Pig's skin is used when a person has been burned in a fire and they need a grafting.  Certain animals have very similar glands like us, and before insulin was made by DNA, they used a pig's pancreas and made insulin from that.

It has been around a long time and way before Levo.  I was on it years ago, but I am just on T3 now as I really can't convert T4 into useable T3.

I hope this helps, Shelly

hi shelly this is a great help thankyou,its been a eye opener for me as i thought just take the levo and i would be fine,thats not the case as im not fine so i decided to change to ndt,been on them 3 days today,feeling ok but still got the shakes not all the time tho so hoping as time goes on i will feel much better,i take half in morning and half at 2pm,was on 125mg levo,bit confused to why i start at 60mg a day ndt is that to low,then up it in 14 days by half again seems very low to being on levo 125mg aday how did you start yours shelly x

Karen - Maybe you were on 125 MICROGRAMS (mcg) of Levothyroxine.  Now you are on 60 MILLIGRAMS (mg) of NDT. ???  I take Armour Thyroid and I am doing much better than I was when on Levo.  A 60 mg starting dose of NDT is generally considered "safe".  Once your thyroid doctor sees how your body reacts, then the dose may be increased gradually depending on your clinical symptoms and blood test results.

One more idea, Karen.  The first two days I was on Armour Thyroid NDT, I felt terrible.  Really tired.  Dead tired.  Then I started to chew up each Armour tablet, taking it with a few drops of honey.  What a difference that made! 

Dave - I was on Levothyroxine for almost two years, with my TSH in the "normal" range, but I felt like crap.  Really tired every day.  Then I changed doctors and was switched to Armour Thyroid.  After learning that I had to chew each tablet, and getting my dose increased to a level right for me, I feel much better.  I have done considerable research here.  Armour Thyroid has not made any of its business owners rich.  Synthroid has, though.  And, Mylan, the mega-generic drug corporation did very well financially with Levothyroxine.

As for clinical trials, you would be interested to read the randomized, double-blind cross-over study conducted by the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland (USA) in 2013.  Most of the patients, who were on both Levo and Armour Thyroid for many weeks each, heavily favored Armour Thyroid.  They felt better on it and had better test results too.

As Barbara98940 says, get on NDT as soon as you can. I take Armour thyroid. It's from a pigs thyroid. Start small 15 mcg (a 1/4 grain) and increase your dose very slowly until you begin to feel "normal". While you are doing this, read, read, read and read some more about this problem.

 I don't want any more "medicine" it made me ill for 2 1/2 years, then I was lucky enough to get on Armour and I became normal again within  1/2 hour.

You can buy Armour off the Internet. Its the same price as I pay through my doctor ~$25 per bottle of 100.

Let us know how you get on, our thoughts are with you .

Hello Karen:

The Levo was in Micrograms (mcg) on label - everyone writes MG.  I know what you mean.   When you change to a different medication, some changes to the strength happen. NDT is formualted differently since it has natural hormones and contains all four of the thyroid hormones. The dosage of 60 mcg may be the equal or near to the dose of your prior LEVO before.  Also doctors sometimes will start a bit lower, then they run blood again and make changes based on the TSH and T4 and T3 levels, and symptoms.  I wish it was easier to say what microgram amount is correct for you, it is a bit of trial and error.

Medication like this has to be tailored to each person's need. Some of us need a different type of thyroid med.  When I started I was on a low dose like 10mcg and then changed after the next blood level.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are feeling.

XO Shelly

Armour Thyroid is measured in MILLIGRAMS (mg).  Levothyroxine is measured in MICROGRAMS (mcg).  Shelly, you are certainly correct that getting to the right dose is "a bit of trial and error."

Hello Joe:

That is right, I stand corrected.

Shelly

Karen I've just sent this post to you as a PM so I can include the link properly. However, for the benefit of everyone else...

There is a really good guide on 'how to dose with NDT' on tpauk. - you will need to register. It is stored under 'treasure chest'.

I think you have to start slowly so that your body gets used to getting T3 directly from a tablet instead of having to convert it. This is probably why you've got the shakes. If you are concerned, ask your endocrinologist. Though it's so far so good!

hi shelly your right i got it wrong so used to writting mgs.i take 60mg of ndt aday split in 2 half at 6am and other half at 2pm and really doing good at this level so far,early days still 5 days so far on ndt,im not wanting to sleep all the time which is a plus for me  got more energy,just hope i keep going forward instead of having blips.i seem to be stable on 60mg at moment,ive been told to up by half in 14 days tho.thanks shelly xx

hi joe i take 60mg of thiroyd i take half at 6am other half at 2pm i chew it up and push it under my tongue,i havnt felt so good in 24 years of taking levo,my tepature on seeing doctors is 36.5ish which ive read up could be another problem,im hoping now my doctor will support me in the change from levo to ndt i see him on the 25/9/15  karen x

im hoping my doctor will support me on the change as im doing so much better on ndt x

 

Hi katen, don't build up your hopes. My doctor supports it but the CCG (clinical commissioning group) have still blocked it. I hope you have more luck.

Hello Karen:

This is wonderful news!  NDT is a very good replacement hormone and gives you all 4 thyroid hormones.  Keep getting better each day.

XO Shelly

Then your options are to try natural dessicated thyroid or suffer with your negative symptoms.

I have been on synthroid for 14 years with no issues. I recently prdered dessicated thyroid because i dont want to take a synthetic pharmaceutical for the rest of my life. We will see if it works

It works for me. When nothing else did. NatureThroid made me swell up, though it works for lots of people. So am now on a hypoallergenic bovine NDT. Good luck with the trial.